“That’s me. I’ll be back.”
“Hey Gatlin, what can I help you with?” Cooper asks.
“Where’s Belladonna?”
“She went to get books and then the DMV.”
“Criss is going to see her after that.”
“I am taking it, this is a bad thing.”
“He thinks he found a way to reverse it. It won’t work but she is going to resent the hell out of him. We need to get her.”
“Belladonna, Criss thinks he found a way to reverse everything. That’s what he is going to do today. It won’t work. Get out of it”.
“I’m already with him.”
“I’ll be there with Gatlin shortly.”
“She’s already with him.”
“Let’s go. Call for Nicolae just in case.”
Criss was driving with a sense of purpose to a waterfall of the beaten path. Belladonna was just looking out the window enjoying the scenery. Trying to seem like everything was good. “What made you want to go to this waterfall?”
“I read about it and I thought it would be nice to go to.”
“Especially in winter.” Belladonna laughs.
Criss slows down. “I forget weather affects you. Are you going to be, okay?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Crap I didn’t think about you. I always think of you. But I was too busy thinking about.”
The road up ahead is blocked by Cooper’s car. The road behind is blocked by Nicolae’s car.
“Just stay in the car. It’s too cold for you to deal with anything.”
“Criss?”
“I promise I’ll explain everything when I get done. We’ll go get coffee in a nice warm place.”
“Okay.”
“Criss?” Gatlin asks.
“I’m turning around and we’re getting coffee. I swear. You can follow us if you want.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“She did without knowing it.”
“Are you going to try this again?”
“No Gatlin. Can I take her to go get coffee now?”
“Yes.”
Criss gets back in the car with tears in his eyes. Belladonna doesn’t say anything. He drives down the road and is crying. Belladonna goes to comfort him but he pushes her off. By the time they get the coffee shop he is sobbing. He finally lets Belladonna hold him. “I’m so sorry. So sorry. So so sorry. I just wanted the thread back. I just need the thread back. I’m so empty. So damn empty. I can’t live a lifetime being this empty. I refuse to.”
“Shhh it’s okay Criss. It’s going to be okay. Alright it’s going to be alright. I’m right here. I’m right here. You’ve got me. I’m holding you right now. I’ve got you. Calm down for me. Shh baby I’ve got you.”
Criss sits up and wipes his eyes. “How do I look?”
“Seriously? Fishing for compliments?”
Criss lightly pushes Belladonna and gets out of the car. He opens the car door for Belladonna. They go into the coffee shop. A couple looks at Criss and Belladonna. “Swingers.”
“Oh, for gosh sakes. Can we start talking about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that.”
“Criss seriously?”
“Sorry not my side of the court.”
“So if I handed you a bible would it burn?”
“No smart ass.”
Criss and Belladonna pick a table over by the window away from the swinger couple. Belladonna puts her feet on Criss. To anyone looking at them they look at a very in love couple who are very comfortable with each other. Criss keeps playing with her fingertips. While Belladonna outlines his hand with her index finger. Neither of them is saying a word to each other. “I can’t imagine not touching you ever again. I think I’d have to die.”
“I know.”
“Repeat that princess.”
“I know.”
“I’m not going to jump up and kiss you here but if you had that thread that’s what you’d feel.”
“I can imagine.”
“I want out of this coffee shop.”
“Restraint Criss.”
“I’ve never been good at that with you.”
“That’s because you’ve never had to be.”
“You’re right I have never had to be.”
“Maybe it’s time you learned some.”
“I can do that.”
“Good.”
“I still feel the need to leave.”
“I know.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“I don’t know.”
“After you saw our seven years together what do you think?”
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
“Just imagine how we could be now. as adults.”
“Criss you’ve seen the future. You’re not in it.
“Futures change.”
“Those are a certainty.”
“I want all the time I can get.”
“We’ll see.”
“That’s all I ask.”
First day of school was utter chaos. It always is though. Trying to find classes, finding what professors like and dislike, seeing who is in your class, getting the extra materials you need in each class, seeing if you need to drop or add any classes the list goes on. Belladonna was on break with Mercedes and Pete. “I have this one guy who is in all of my classes so far. I feel like I’m following. Oh jesus he’s over there.”
“The tall, cute guy?” Mercedes asks.
“Yes, that would be him.”
“You are such a stalker,” Pete teases.
“I feel like it.”
Cute tall guy comes over. “Hi I’m Damari. I feel like I should introduce myself since I’m basically following you today.”
“Hi I’m Belladonna.”
“Do you mind if I take a look at your schedule?”
“Not in the least.”
Damari laughs. “I’m so glad I did this. I follow you for the rest of the day and twice tomorrow.”
Belladonna laughs, “I’m glad you did too otherwise one of us would have been going to the courthouse.”
“I take it you are an English literature major?”
“Yes. You too?”
“Yes.”
“Well, these are my friends Pete and Mercedes.”
“Nice to meet you both.”
“My friends were taking bets on whether or not I would come off as a stalker.”
“Tell them you didn’t.”
“Thanks. Well, I’ll see you next period.”
“Yeah. Thanks Damari.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, he’s probably a vampire, demon, or witch.”
“Shh Pete.”
“No normal guy says hello to you.”
“Or he’s King of Diaper Town,” Mercedes says.
“You two are horrible.”
“We’re honest.”
“Honest.”
“Horrible.”
“When he shows up and says I’m King of Gummy Bear world you just remember this conversation,” Mercedes says.
Belladonna comes home from school to no one at home. Talia has taken Destiny out for a playdate and Cooper is at the physical office today. Belladonna goes into the sitting room to start her homework. She is about done with her second subject when her phone rings. “Hello.”
“Belladonna?”
“This is her.”
“This is Damari.”
“Oh hey. What’s up?”
“The King of Gummy Bear World was wondering if we could talk.”
Belladonna laughs. “What would you like to talk about?”
“It’s more of a face to face conversation.”
“Coffee shop on campus?”
“Sounds good. Thirty minutes?
“Thirty minutes.”
Belladonna gets ready to leave sending a message to Cooper about where she is going and who she is meet
ing. Belladonna gets in her car and drives to the coffee shop on campus. Damari is already there waiting for her. “What can I get for you?”
“I can get it.”
“Come on let me get it.” Must my future Queen fight me?
“Chai tea latte.”
“Do you want to wait in line with me?”
“Sure.”
“So, Vampire, fae, witch?”
“I’m a mixture of things.”
“I’m assuming Vampire since you heard our convo.”
“The King's names were cute. I appreciate none of them were on the dark side cause that isn’t me.”
“You aren’t dark?” Belladonna faced him with a look of pure confusion on her face.
“No, I’m not. If there is dark there must be light. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“There are Kings that are on the good side. We don’t deal with dark, nightmares, misery, terror, etc. “
“There are good that deal with light, compassion, trust, love, you get the idea.”
“All I’ve met are bad and well my husband but he’s over two states.”
“Yes, and that’s very different then us. We are broader. We occupy everything. It keeps us very busy and on our toes. Now from what I understand you renounced Eden’s request correct?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You did the same to Criss?”
“Yes.”
“Yet Criss still stays here.”
“Yes, he does.”
“Did you two become involved at some point?”
“Yes, we did.”
“I see. Interesting.”
“What are you the King of?”
“Are you going to renounce me?”
Belladonna laughs. “Only if I have to.”
“Okay good. I’m the King of Love.”
“Are you anything like a cupid and I’m being dead serious when I ask that. Not trying to be rude.”
“It’s fine everyone asks that. I have subjects that perform cupid like duties. There is a lot involved in what I do. It’s one of the harder Kingships. There are some that don’t do anything. It does make things interesting though having one that is so busy.”
“Damari, if it’s so busy how do you have time to do this?”
“I’ve been waiting awhile to do this. Trust me things can fall to the wayside for this.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Well sure.”
“Does everyone expect me to be their Queen?”
“No how it works is you can be Queen to two Realms. Now being Queen doesn’t mean you have to have a sexual relationship with them or anything it just means you agree to help out if that land is ravaged, etc.
“Makes sense.”
“What does the Queen get out of it?”
“Status, money, power.”
“Well, I don’t want any of those things.”
“You are one of the few.”
“Damari, I don’t see the point in being your Queen.”
“Cause you care about me.”
“I barely know you.”
“You will care about me.”
“You are full of yourself.”
“I try to be.”
“I need to go.”
“I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
“Yes, you will. Goodbye.”
“He is the King of Love?” Cooper asks while they eat dinner.
“Yes. I am beginning to think they just make up what they are Kings of. I mean Gatlin is King of something, but he doesn’t tell anyone.”
“I gave up trying to figure out the Kings a long time ago.”
“I guess that’s probably a smart idea.”
“Yes it is.”
Belladonna and Cooper clear the table. Belladonna loads the dishwasher while Cooper cleans the kitchen. They get done and Destiny start crying. Cooper gets her bottle ready while Belladonna soothes her waiting for Cooper to get her bottle. She eats while there is a knock on the door. It’s Nicolae. “Hey Nic., what’s up?”
“Not much.” He looks guilty and can’t look Belladonna in the eye. She says it over the connection to Cooper He slept with Mercedes.
She felt sick. She got done Destiny and excused herself. She goes upstairs and throws up. Several times. She brushed her teeth. She comes out of the bathroom and Nicolae is standing there. “How was she?”
“I’m so sorry.”
“ You didn’t answer my question HOW WAS SHE?”
“Nothing compared to you.”’
“WHY did you FUCK her?”
“I was at her house. I was lonely. We were drinking. One thing led to another. I didn’t talk to her afterwards. I didn’t kiss her. There was no foreplay. There was just sex. That's it.”
Nicolae kisses Belladonna. He leads her into one of the spare bedrooms. He locks the door and takes off his shirt. He takes off her shirt and bra. He kisses her neck. Softly nibbling, biting, and kissing. He nibbles on her ear and whispers, “She didn’t get near my neck and I didn’t get near her’s.” He moves his tongue down between her breast. He unhooks it. He takes it off with his teeth. He runs his tongue all over her breast. He sucks on each nipple. While doing so he plays with her clit. Make her wetter. She cums and Nicolae lays her down. He undresses. He kisses her some more and slides inside. He whispers in Belladonna’s ear, “I wasn’t slow at all. I was fast I just wanted to climax. I left right after. I would never do that to you.” Nicolae is going slowly
savoring every moment. He finally speeds up and Belladonna moans. “Is this what you want, precious? You want faster, don’t you? Is that better? Yeah, it is. Let me hear you. Not too loud. Can’t have Cooper kicking my butt. I may have asked permission but ask and reality are two different things.” They touch the rings of Jupiter and come back down.
Gatlin is teaching her a spell today at his house. They are alone. Belladonna has
to admit being alone with him she can’t deny the attraction between them. She knows she should give him a chance, but she just can’t. She is scared he’ll be erased from her mind again. “Now this spell is bright. It makes a light appear. If you are in a dark room or forest. You ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Okay learn the spell. If you don’t know how to say a word or anything like that just ask. I would hate for you to summon a killer troll or anything like that.”
Belladonna laughs. “So just take your time. We have all the time in the world. Unless you are in a hurry to get out of here.”
“No, my afternoon is free, so I am all yours.”
“Great so let's get to work.”
Belladonna learns the spell easy enough, but she is beyond distracted. She finally stands up and goes over to where Gatlin is sitting. He looks up at her and smiles. “Belladonna what can I do for you?”
Belladonna straddles him and kisses him. Gatlin runs his hands all over her back and hair. “Put me up against the wall,” she whispers to Gatlin. He pushes her up against the wall and takes off her panties. Belladonna moan. Belladonna tries to help Gatlin takes off his pants but he got them himself along with his boxers. “I need you now Gatlin. Please. Now.”
“Yes sweetie.”
Belladonna holds tightly onto him as he enters her. She calls out and Gatlin moan. Belladonna bites Gatlin. I love you so much. More than the universe. I can’t believe I am getting you. It’s a dream come true. I needed you. SO bad.”
Gatlin rolls them over and Belladonna is on top. She is riding Gatlin. He reaches up and bites Belladonna. I love you. I’m scared of you. I’m scared what you’ll do with that information. I don’t mean that. I’m scared that you’’ll disappear again. I’m terrified of that. I’m taking a risk doing this. Don’t make me regret this.”
“You will never regret this, Bell. Never.”
They continue making love not knowing that Criss is outside the door listening.
The club is busy. Belladonna figures it's because it’s the back-to-school cro
wd. Mercedes comes back with drinks. She gets Belladonna a shirley temple with extra cherries. Belladonna laughs. Belladonna goes and stands over at the banister with Cooper. Mercedes is standing beside Belladonna and Gatlin is on the other side of Belladonna. Pete comes out on the stage. The song is a bit of a departure from their normal stuff, but it works for them. Pete is owning the stage and captivating everyone. He is beyond doing a great job. He keeps looking up at Mercedes and Belladonna. When he finishes, he blows a kiss to them and they blow a kiss back. Cooper smiles but says nothing. Nicolae comes in and Mercedes rushes over to him. Nicolae comes over to Belladonna and kisses her on the cheek. “Can I have a dance?”
“Yes of course.”
Belladonna and Nicolae dance to a fast song. Nicolae smiles at her, “I told you I was done.”
“I thought maybe you might talk to her.”
”I thought I would just let her find out this way.”
Nicolae you need to talk to her.”
“You’re right I should.”
“Otherwise, you’re an ass.”
“You’re right.”
“Can I cut in?’ Criss ask.
“Sure,” Nicolae says.
“You finally showed up.”
“I was packing up.”
“You were what?” Belladonna eyes are huge.
“I am going to leave. You don’t need me Bell so I’m going to go elsewhere. I’ll see you one day.”
“Criss this isn’t you. You don’t leave me. You never leave me. You adore me. You would give up your life for me. You said you want to spend forever with me regardless of how long that is. What changed Criss? Tell me what changed?”
“You slept with Gatlin.”
“And I haven’t slept with you?”
“YES!”
“Baby.” Belladonna gets close to Criss.
“Gods sometimes I hate the power you have over me.”
“I know the feeling.”
“I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, baby. Please don't leave me.” Then she whispers in his ear, “Don’t leave your princess.”
Criss is instantly hard and is looking for somewhere to take her. “You have such a hold on me.”
“I thought I was the only one.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“No more packing. No more moving.”
“No more Bell. I swear.”
“Thank you.”
Queen: Part One Page 18